Felix Alvarado will not only get his overdue title shot but his team now gets to dictate the terms for the occasion.
BoxingScene has confirmed that MP Promotions has claimed promotional rights for Alvarado’s mandatory title fight against reigning IBF 112lbs titlist Masamichi Yabuki. MP Promotions – named after Hall-of-Fame eight-division titlist Manny Pacquiao – submitted $30,000 as the lone bidder during a purse bid hearing held Tuesday via Zoom.
Neither a date nor location were offered as this goes to publication. However, IBF representatives confirmed to BoxingScene that such items are due with signed contracts by no later than 15 days from the hearing. Additionally, the fight must take place within the next 90 days, or no later than December 8.
Yabuki, 18-4 (17 KOs) claimed the IBF flyweight title with a 12th round knockout of unbeaten Angel Ayala. Their March 29 bout in - Yabuki’s home region of Tokoname, Japan – was one way traffic throughout their affair. Yabuki floored Mexico City’s Ayala three times to ultimately force the stoppage and become a three-time, two-division titleholder.
The bout was made possible when Nicaragua’s Alvarado, 42-4 (35 KOs), who agreed to step aside with the promise that he would be guaranteed a shot at the winner.
Yabuki entered the fight with Ayala as the reigning IBF 108lbs titleholder, and armed with a mandatory title defense due against the Philippines’ Christian Araneta. Yabuki subsequently confirmed to BoxingScene that he would abandon his 108lbs reign and remain at flyweight, and that he would face Alvarado once fully healed from minor injuries.
Alvarado has won three in a row since a controversial defeat to Ayala in their October 2023 IBF flyweight title eliminator on the road in Merida, Mexico. Strangely, Alvarado – a former IBF 108lbs titlist – was announced as the winner before the ring announcer corrected his call and revealed that Ayla had instead claimed a narrow, unanimous decision victory.
The setback came two fights and eleven months after Alvarado dropped a competitive but clear unanimous decision to then-unbeaten IBF 112lbs titlist Sunny Edwards. Their November 2021 bout – in Edwards’ hometown of Sheffield, England – saw Alvarado offer a spirited effort but fall short against the supremely gifted British boxer.
Better have times have arrived for Alvarado, 36, whose three-fight win streak has come entirely in his Managua hometown. The win put him in line for another title shot came in a twelve-round, majority decision over then-unbeaten Tobias Reyes last December 27 at home. The victory saw Alvarado advance to the top contender position in the IBF flyweight ratings.
All four of Yabuki’s career defeats have come against championship level opposition. His losses to Junto Nakatani, Seigo Yuri Akui and Daniel Matellon occurred while all three were on the rise and years before they each won their first title.
The most recent defeat suffered by Yabuki came in his March 2022 rematch with Kenshiro Teraji. Yabuki defeated his countryman six months prior via tenth-round knockout to claim the WBC 108lbs title in a major upset. His reign ended in their next meeting, which saw Teraji prevail via third-round stoppage to regain his title.
Per the terms of the purse bid, Yabuki is due 65 percent - $19,500 – as the defending titlist. The remaining 35 percent - $10,500 – will go to Alvarado and his team as the mandatory challenger.
Assuming the fight winds up in North America, it will mark Yabuki’s first career fight outside of Asia. His lone other bout to not take place in Japan came in a January 2019 knockout win in Daegu, South Korea.
